Coelho's novel, The Alchemist, takes us on an adventure to fulfill the personal legend of a young man named Santiago who is simply referred to as "the boy" throughout the entirety of the story. The boy is a shepherd from Spain who has a recurring dream and seeks to find out why. He finds out that he must fulfill his personal legend of travelling to the pyramids of Egypt in Africa to find treasure. Along the way, he meets strange and interesting people, he learns valuable life lessons about deceit and one's destiny, he falls in love, discovers alchemy, and masters the Language of the World. The boy spends the latter part of his journey crossing the desert with an alchemist who helps him realize that understanding the science of alchemy is a spiritual journey and that everything in the universe has a soul and those souls are all connected.
I recommend that spiritual people read this novel. As the boy reflects on his spirituality and the lessons he has learned, readers can also do the same. I almost got really emotional reading this because I felt some of the same feelings as the boy and I even contemplated giving up on something important to me just as he did. Reading this reminded me to trust in the higher power, listen to my heart, and enjoy nature.
"Courage is the quality most essential to understanding the Language of the World." -The Stranger from The Alchemist
The Black Bibliophage
